Exhibit 31.1
QUARTERLY CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER REQUIRED BY
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Walter M. Higgins III, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the
period ending September 30, 2003 of Sierra Pacific Resources,
Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present
in all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of the registrants as of, and for,
the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrants' other certifying officer and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrants and have:
a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
designed under our supervision, to ensure that
material information relating to the registrants,
including their consolidated subsidiaries, is made
known to us by others within those entities,
particularly during the period in which this report
is being prepared;
b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants'
disclosure controls and procedures and presented in
this report our conclusions about the effectiveness
of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the
end of the period covered by this report based on
such evaluation; and
c) Disclosed in this report any change in the
registrants' internal control over financial
reporting that occurred during the registrants' most
recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected,
or is reasonably likely to affect, the registrants'
internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrants' other certifying officer and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the registrants' auditors
and the audit committee of the registrants' board of directors
(or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses
in the design or operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
adversely affect the registrants' ability to record,
process, summarize and report financial information;
and
b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrants' internal control over
financial reporting.
November 13, 2003
/s/ Walter M. Higgins III
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Walter M. Higgins III
Chief Executive Officer